Even though he was ranked as one of the best wide receivers in the recruiting class of 2023, Brandon Inniss’ first couple of months at Ohio State haven’t been easy.
Since he arrived at Ohio State in May, Inniss has been initiated into life as a Buckeye by going through summer workouts led by Mickey Marotti and his sports performance staff. For a summer enrollee like him, those workouts can serve as a welcome to college football, and the coaches certainly haven’t taken it easy on Inniss despite his five-star status.
“Very, very, very hard,” Inniss said when asked how his first summer workouts have gone. “But you know, you get used to it, and we're having fun now with it.”
While Inniss has learned firsthand about the grind of playing college football since he arrived in Columbus, the Florida native – who was ranked as the No. 35 overall prospect in the 2023 class – wouldn’t want it any other way. Inniss’ excitement to begin his college football career and learn from Brian Hartline has been apparent throughout the offseason, as he was on campus to watch several practices this spring even though he didn’t enroll until May, and he’s thrilled to now officially be a Buckeye and on the precipice of his first season wearing the scarlet and gray.
“I’ve enjoyed it very much,” Inniss said when asked about how he’s enjoyed his time at Ohio State so far. “I mean, I've been waiting to get to college for so long. Finally here, but I'm ready. It’s the time.”
Now that he is in Columbus, Inniss isn’t just learning from Hartline but also from Ohio State’s other wide receivers, including two of the elite receivers in all of college football, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. He described the opportunity to be alongside them every day as “very special.”
“Not a lot of guys get this opportunity with Marvin and Emeka,” Inniss said. “Just learning from them guys daily just makes me a better player. And I can't wait to take over.”
Inniss says the biggest things they’ve taught him so far are “being very detail-oriented, coming in doing the right things every time and just working when others aren't looking.”
As he walks into a receiver room that has produced three first-round NFL draft picks (Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba) over the past two years, Inniss knows the expectations that come with being Ohio State’s newest five-star wide receiver. But he has no lack of confidence in his ability – as well as the ability of fellow freshman wideouts Carnell Tate, Noah Rogers and Bryson Rodgers – to live up to them.
“It makes me very determined just live up to the expectations and things like that. I feel like I'm able to do it, and once I get going, nobody's gonna be able to stop me, Carnell, Noah, Bryson, all the receivers that came in in 2023,” Inniss said.
Inniss says the biggest focus in his first summer at Ohio State has been learning the Buckeyes’ offensive playbook, knowing that understanding the offense is the first step toward starting to meet those expectations.
“Right now, that's what I'm focused on, learning the playbook. So if anybody needs me to come in and step up and do things like that, I'll be able to be ready,” Inniss told Eleven Warriors. “And then fixing everything I can. Getting my feet better, my hands better, speed, everything.”
Ohio State doesn’t need Inniss to be a star right away. Harrison, Egbuka and Julian Fleming will lead Ohio State’s receiver unit as returning starters, while versatile sixth-year senior Xavier Johnson also figures to see significant playing time. With Jayden Ballard also pushing to play a role, Kojo Antwi and Kyion Grayes entering their second years and the other three freshman receivers already having a spring under their belts, Inniss will have to battle just to earn a spot on the two-deep in year one.
That said, Inniss has his sights set on earning immediate playing time and is confident in his ability to do so. Having played all over the field in high school, including a stint as American Heritage’s quarterback, Inniss believes there are many ways in which he could potentially make an impact right away.
“Whether it’s on special teams or on offense, play a little running back, you never know. Little trick passes, whatever, I can do whatever,” Inniss said. “So I feel like that's where I'll be used this season.”
With all of the talent Ohio State has on offense, it shouldn’t need Inniss to do too much outside of just playing wide receiver. But he believes his versatility is one of his greatest assets to the Buckeyes and what will set him apart from the other talented wideouts he’ll be playing alongside.
“I'm much more versatile. I've played every position in high school. So I feel like I can play every position on the offense,” Inniss said.
Hartline hasn’t publicly made any declarations for what he expects from Inniss in his first year as a Buckeye, though he said this spring he thought Inniss would start his career competing for playing time in the slot. And while Inniss didn’t have the benefit of going through a full spring like Tate, Rogers and Rodgers did, Hartline believes Inniss got a leg up on the other summer enrollees by enrolling in May, one month earlier than most of the other summer enrollees did.
“I think it's helped him a lot,” Hartline said in late May. “I think his body's already starting to change a little bit. I think he's mentioned to me he already feels a little stronger. And so any time you can get on campus and get rolling with how it's gonna go, it's going to help you. That first month can be a lot of things happening. To do it a month earlier than you would have is a huge bonus.”
Whenever Inniss’ first opportunities to play do come, he says Ohio State fans will see a player who is “electric, very passionate and fun to watch.” But his goals for his first year aren’t limited to what he can do individually.
“Get playing time, get adjusted, beat the team up north, win the Big Ten championship, win the national championship,” Inniss said when asked to list his goals for his freshman year.
In addition to preparing for his first season as a Buckeye, Inniss has also been getting acclimated to life in Columbus and spending time at community events as part of his partnership with Cohesion Foundation. On Saturday, that meant playing volleyball alongside some of his new Ohio State teammates as they participated in the Volley For A Cure tournament benefitting the LandOn A Cure Foundation at Woodland’s Backyard in Grandview.
The intensity ratcheted up when the football players went head-to-head. Cedrick Hawkins, Jyaire Brown, Jermaine Mathews Jr., Brandon Inniss, Noah Rogers, Kayden McDonald got the win over Bryson Rodgers, Calvin Simpson-Hunt, Jason Moore, Joshua Mickens, Arvell Reese, Jayden Bonsu. pic.twitter.com/OwCm9sCSWw
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) July 15, 2023
Inniss is already well-known enough thanks to his recruiting pedigree that many Ohio State fans were excited to see him at that event, but he knows his platform will only grow once he starts playing for the Buckeyes. Given that, Inniss feels it’s also important to ingrain himself within the Columbus community and get to know the people who will now be cheering for him on Saturdays.
“It’s very important, because one day I hope to be a household name,” Inniss said while attending the event. “And the fact I can just come out here in the community and let everybody see me and things like that and get to know people, people come up to me, building relationships, that’s very important.”
